Chapter Forty-One

Paige paced the length of the living room. Morning views of the ocean couldn’t erase her irritation over being sent to Brenden’s voicemail for the umpteenth time. Not only was he not answering, he wasn’t responding to texts.

She glanced down at her watch and accepted the inevitable. Brenden wouldn’t be at her side today during the Ethics Committee hearing. A fresh wave of anxiety made her knees buckle until she plopped down onto the sofa. She begged herself to answer the question: what good was the love she held for him if he couldn’t even be here?

“I got it!” Katie yelled from upstairs.

Paige snapped from her contemplation to the sound of the doorbell chiming. “I’m already downstairs, Katie, I’ll get it.”

A round of knocks against the door was drowned by Raja’s barks. The dog’s protective nature seemed more fierce than usual as she entered the foyer and perched on hind legs. Harsh growls escaped Raja and put Paige on edge until she saw Gavin Talcott through the peephole. His presence at the doorstep reaffirmed the place she held in Brenden’s life and again reminded her that love wasn’t guaranteed.

She turned the latch on the deadbolt while making a note to put one on her heart. Before she could open the door fully, Gavin pushed himself inside. His abrupt entry and scan of the house garnered more than enough barks from Raja.

“Is anyone else here besides you two?” Gavin’s attention went from Katie tramping down the stairs back to Paige. Neither responded. “Bren—the lieutenant colonel sent me. I have orders to pick you up and get you to Andover for the hearing.”

“Where is he?” Paige asked without flinching. “And how did he know about the hearing being moved up? I haven’t been able to reach him.”

“I’m not at liberty to say, Paige.”

Paige gave a dismissive wave of her hand then stormed over to the living room and retrieved her briefcase. She brushed past her collector and stepped outside the front door. “What about Katie? Should she come, too?”

“The girl is safe.” He gestured to a car parked down the street before directing Paige to a waiting SUV and opening the rear door.

Paige paused at the sight of Amanda seated on the other side decked out in her JAG uniform. Another handler, she thought to herself.

“We need to leave now if you’re going to make it on time to the hearing,” Amanda spoke, urging Paige to get in.

With deep-seated reluctance, Paige accepted Gavin’s help and climbed into the back seat. She crossed her arms and looked out the window as he pulled off.

Amanda cleared her throat. “I’m sorry Bren can’t be here. Please know that I’m here because you’re the wife of a high-ranking service member. One who operates in the darkest shadows to ensure this country is kept safe. We—and I speak on behalf of the President of the United States and Secretary of Defense—cannot afford to have his life scandalized or put forth on public display. Therefore, by attending this hearing as your counsel, I am protecting him and the life you live together.”

“Amanda, where is Brenden? He promised I wouldn’t face this hearing on my own.” Paige turned her attention back out the window. Amanda wasn’t allowed to see her hurt despite her sincere words.

Her face scrunched, watching as the driver of an unmarked black van in the far left lane zeroed in on the SUV. An uneasy sensation paralyzed Paige with fear. Her eyes widened, and she clutched the seatbelt, screaming as the van flew across two interstate lanes and cut off three cars before colliding into the SUV.

A smothering heat accompanied by the scent of rotting garbage and burning tendu leaves created a wave of nausea within Paige that forced her eyes open. Black was all she saw as she coughed, struggling to breathe. She screamed, fighting the suffocating effects from whatever covered her head, and tried to move.

“Shut that bitch up,” a man growled in the distance.

The cover over her face lifted. At once she sucked down a breath of fresh air, but found it impeded by a piece of cloth being stuffed into her mouth. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she shook her head, tugging against the restraints cutting into her wrists. Her attempts to resist were futile and ended with a handkerchief being tied around her mouth.

Once she stopped fighting against her restraints, a tall, well-toned man with a full beard walked toward her. He removed her gag then kneeled at her side. His stench of cheap, hand-rolled cigarettes reminded her of the streets in India where people smoked bidis before disappearing into alleys. This man looked like he had been down and survived a few alleyways. Yet there was something in his blue eyes contradicting perceived tales of ill repute.

“I knew it would be you. Some call it New Year’s Eve magic. Regardless, I’d never seen him look at a woman the way he did you that night.”

Paige recoiled. This man had known her since the night she met Brenden.

The man smirked, staring into her face. “How do you contact Jas if you’re in trouble?”

Paige didn’t tell him shit. She stuck her nose in the air and turned away from his hostile glare, then quickly scanned the old warehouse in hopes of locating an exit. There were none, only shelves upon shelves of cargo. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the side loader in the distance, and saw the crates stacked upon it were labeled Lowell Defense. Richard was still nursing sore wounds or were Amanda’s utterances in Landstuhl more real than Paige cared to believe?

“Again.” The man pulled out a gun and stood pointing it in her face. “How do you contact Jas?”

Uncontrollable tears soaked her face. Her heart jumped in erratic fashion as she tugged against the plastic binding her wrists to a rickety wooden chair. “I…I—” Anxiety skyrocketed when the wheels of two unmarked cars raced in and came to screeching stops.

“What the hell are you doing?” Richard leaped from a rear car door. He shoved the man holding Paige at gunpoint and then pulled his own weapon. “This was not part of the fucking plan, Jake. She was not to be harmed.”

“You don’t call the shots.” Jake cocked his head at Richard. He smirked and then pointed his gun back at Paige. “Lower your fucking weapon, Lowell.”

“Easy, easy. Calm down, Rich.” Paige shuddered at the sight of Senator Beau Franks leading an entourage of men to where Richard and Jake stood holding each other at gunpoint. “The commander’s wife is a necessary insurance policy.”

“Not like this.” Richard looked at Paige. His jaw clenched even as sorrow filled his eyes. “Paige sitting in the Ethics Committee hearing would’ve been distracting enough for Brenden and his team. Fajheed’s men could’ve done the rest,” Richard huffed, lowered his gun, and placed it in his belt loop.

“So you naively hope again. That team is the best of the best. Besides, the lieutenant colonel has a penchant for declining negotiations.” The senator’s predatorial gaze made Paige’s skin crawl. “She ensures he does not. Your people have to make the drop at the compound. Both our asses are on the line now that they’ve moved Fajheed.”

Fear for Brenden’s life, the life of his team, her life, it was all she felt as she listened to the men in front of her speak of their plans to deliver military grade weapons to known terrorists. And she was sure once Brenden agreed to whatever they wanted, she would be dead. Adrenaline pumped through her body. None of the methods her father and brothers had taught her to escape zip ties would work.

Her only option was to exploit Richard’s weakness for her. Like the volume control on a radio, she sobbed louder and fought against the restraints until the chair fell over. Richard spun around and came to her side. He lifted the chair then stroked his palm against her cheek.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I need to use the bathroom.”

Richard glanced over his shoulder to the senator. “When will we let her go?”

“Once we get confirmation of the drop.” The senator came closer. His dark eyes spoke evil as he gestured to Paige. “She still hasn’t told us how she reaches Brenden.”

“Because I don’t know.” She exhaled. “He never wanted me to be tortured for information, so he never told me anything. However, I’ve learned tons from listening to you three.”

“Jake, link to a frequency on the DSN. Get word to Brenden that you have his wife. And unless he wants her body washing up on the shoreline of his backyard, he will allow the weapons drop.”

“Fuck you,” Paige spat at the senator. “Brenden will always do what is right to protect this country. One person’s life is nothing compared to the millions at stake.”

The senator bared his teeth. He skated into her personal space and slapped her across the face. Hot tears of humiliation rolled down, stinging her cheek before he grabbed her by the chin hard and forced her to look him in the face. “Are you really so naive?”

“Sir,” a voice called from the other side of the warehouse. In slow motion, the senator released Paige from his menacing glare as his fingertips left her chin. He adjusted his coat and then proceeded to Jake’s side. “The weapons have crossed the border. The commander of Black 2131 has issued a stay on the mission. Fajheed’s people confirmed.”

Paige closed her eyes, whispering an apology Brenden couldn’t hear. She finally understood why he had never told her anything. But it was too late. Brenden was on the other side of the world authorizing a mission to be aborted. She would never again tell him how much she loved him.

“Good.” Richard stepped behind the rickety wood chair. “We can loosen these ties on her—”

Blood splattered on Paige. Richard’s body collapsed at her feet. She cried out in horror, taking in shallow breaths barely filling her lungs.

“Your beauty blinds them all.” The senator looked over to Richard’s body crumpled on the concrete and lowered his gun as he moved back toward Paige. “Were you really so blind to love, Paige? I knew Brenden would do anything to ensure your safety after he ditched my daughter and then violated his oath in order to marry you. So what if he allows a few weapons to cross a border and enter an extremist compound? He’ll just hunt them down later while chasing the memory of his dead wife.”

“She’s done nothing,” Jake muttered from behind.

“No?” The senator raised his gun, aiming it at Paige’s head. “Eye for an eye. My Daniel for his Paige.”

…

“Sons of bitches are holding her at gunpoint, Jas,” Linc piped into Brenden’s earpiece even as he attempted to block the sobs of pleading he heard coming from his wife. “Keep moving down the aisle. You’ll see Franks and Henderson before Paige.”

“I love you,” Brenden wanted to shout for Paige to hear. Instead, he moved harder, faster, employing the stealth of a panther as he raced toward the men holding his wife captive. By the end of this night, he would wrap Paige in his arms and speak the words she needed to hear. The words they vowed to hold true for better or worse.

“How many?” Emotion choked Brenden’s voice.

“Just seven, including the senator and Henderson. Lowell’s down.”

There were no words to describe the trepidation racing through Brenden. Of all the emotions assaulting his senses, the one he latched onto was love. Love was why he abandoned his team, coordinated with Tyson Nichols to ensure a safe recovery of Fajheed, and why he was prepared to kill anyone standing between him and Paige. His duty was to his heart, and that meant getting Paige to safety. “You in position, Los?”

“Affirmative.”

“Your only concern is getting my wife the fuck outta here.” He took a deep steadying breath. “You boys up top hold fire until she’s extracted.”

Brenden emerged from the shadows carrying two guns. A combination of emotions rushed his body at the sight of the senator pointing a gun in Paige’s face. He was thankful for the rise and fall of her chest. Yet his heart was breaking into pieces while his blood boiled like molten lava from seeing her restrained to a chair and splattered with blood.

His nostrils flared as he crept closer, noting her torn blouse and disheveled hair. The hood beside her feet seduced a murderous spirit, and he raised both guns. He aimed one at the senator and the other at Henderson then cocked the hammers on his semiautomatics.

“Brenden.” Her voice couldn’t, wouldn’t pull him away from being death’s henchman.

Both the senator and Henderson spun around. Their men circled them, aiming guns at Brenden. Surprise was evident in their expressions, but Brenden hadn’t been coined a tactical genius for no reason.

“Which one of you motherfuckers dies first?” Brenden tilted his head to the left and cracked his neck. His hawk eyes fell on Carlos moving in from the back to untie Paige. Within minutes, she would be free and every bastard before him would meet their maker.

“Stand down,” Henderson ordered his men. “He’s not here alone. We’re sitting ducks right now.”

“Jake, you kidnapped my wife for weapons? We were brothers.”

“Brothers,” the senator huffed, “my son was your brother, commander. Yet he rests six feet deep while his sister, the woman you promised to protect, recovers in Alcoholics Anonymous. Your brotherhood means nothing.” The senator took a step forward.

Brenden tamped down his fury. Carlos was inches from Paige. Just a few seconds more and the senator would be his.

“You proved that the night you and your goons let my son die.”

A single shot fired. Henderson’s hand went to his chest, covering the gunshot as he stumbled to the ground. A storm of gunfire rang in Brenden’s ears. He charged forward, praying to God for the protection of the only woman he’d ever loved.

“Fucking cease fire!” He swallowed a rushed breath. “My wife is still here and she isn’t equipped with protective gear.”

Overwhelmed by witnessing Senator Franks manhandle Paige from the confines of the rickety wooden chair, Brenden hurdled over the senator’s fallen goons. His entire body went still when the senator slammed the barrel of his gun against Paige’s head. Her cries chilled Brenden to the bone, and for the second time in his life, he tangoed with being helpless.

“Let her go.” Brenden spotted Carlos moving in from behind, then dropped his gun and stood with his hands in the air. He wasn’t surrendering to the twisted influence of the senator. He was a man in love, needing one more chance with the woman who’d captured his heart. Once this was over, he planned to spend every day of the rest of his life telling Paige how much he loved her.

“Why should I? You took everything from me!” he shouted.

Paige whimpered as the senator slid the pistol to her temple. Brenden stared down into his wife’s eyes. Had she been any other hostage, he would’ve taken the risk. Instead, his feet remained rooted to the ground.

“No, you did that.” Brenden discreetly signaled Carlos against moving in. Paige was still too close.

“West Point, Black 2131, introducing me to Megan… All of your son’s short life was spent trying to make you proud. And he would’ve except you turned him. Your machinations made Daniel take his own life.”

“Impossible. Daniel was killed in action.” The senator’s eyes went wide. “You gave the sit-rep.”

“Your son committed suicide, Senator.” Brenden shook his head. He didn’t miss the understanding settling upon Paige’s face at his confession. She now understood the nightmares he’d endured. “I tried, but I couldn’t save him. He didn’t want me to. Better dead than shunned by his father for failing to off his team.”

The senator tucked his upper lip. Words attempted to form but never left his mouth. He shoved Paige away and shuffled backward, his shoulders slumping and his head dropping. In slow motion, he began raising the gun to his own head.

With lightning speed, Brenden charged the man he once respected. He didn’t stop until his fist connected with the senator’s jaw. A second blow with a right hook challenged the senator’s balance and allowed Brenden to pin him to the ground.

A glance from his peripheral revealed Carlos sweeping Paige away. Once Brenden was sure Paige couldn’t witness his actions, he punched the senator in his face before smashing it to the ground and binding the man’s hands. “You don’t get the easy way out. You’ll suffer public humiliation and plead guilty to war crimes for what you did to my wife and your son.”

Brenden yanked the senator to his feet. The man’s downcast eyes communicated his shame. As they moved toward the staging area, a part of Brenden took pity on him, until he glanced in the distance and saw a medic treating Paige. A wicked impulse coursed through his veins. He delivered a swift kick that knocked Franks down to his knees and then grabbed the scumbag’s neck until his pleas became breathless.

“You’re no better than him if you do this, Jas.” Jacob Henderson came to Brenden’s side, still clutching his chest. Without hesitation, Brenden pulled his gun and aimed it at Jake. “I went deep cover.” He raised his arms into the air. “I’ll explain everything.” He tilted his head toward Paige. “You don’t want her to see you do this.”

“No, you don’t,” Robert Jasper spoke with all his authority before stopping at Brenden’s side. “Even if this piece of shit deserves to be gutted like the animal he is, Paige has seen more than enough, and with the evidence Jake has collected for the last two years—” Robert snapped from Brenden to Senator Franks. “Beau, you will pray for hell.”

“Commander, sir.” Talcott came running, head bandaged with his arm in a sling. “Communication has gone black on the team.”

“Let me help,” Jake offered. “I’m wearing protective gear. I’m not hurt.”

Brenden turned to his father, who acknowledged Jake with a nod. He then glimpsed Paige. “Give me a minute. I need to make sure she’s good.” He ran to Paige and took her into his arms. He thanked her for being strong, and thanked God for giving him another chance to show this woman the love she deserved.

“Brenden,” she sniffled.

“I’m here, Nichols. I’m sorry, baby.” His lips crashed down to hers. All the love from his heart flowed to her through his kiss. Never again would he be without this feeling.

“Commander,” Robert Jasper called to Brenden. “The bird’s waiting. Your team needs you, now.”

“Nichols,” Brenden breathed hard, attempting to ignore the sound of the chopper blades cutting the air. He wanted to tell her he remembered every kiss, touch, argument, and that he loved her more than he ever dreamed possible. But that moment couldn’t be rushed. “When the smoke clears.” He started walking backward.

“I’ll be here, Jasper,” she choked over fresh tears. “I love you.”

“I know…that’s how I know I’ll survive.” Brenden closed his eyes, pressed his lips to two fingers, and released the kiss. He then turned and ran to fulfill his duty, which meant, for the moment, denying his heart.